e facing. later we will hear from josh goodman on state trends and the economic turnaround. "washington journal" is next. ♪ host: welcome to "washington journal," on january 27, 2013. congress will be in washington and president obama travels to las vegas. in washington news, the iowa senator announced he will not seek reelection next year. throughout this month governors are addressing their legislatures and constituents and laying out their visions for the year ahead. c-span has been carrying many of these state of the state addresses. we would like to hear from you,

what are the biggest issues in your state? and what an -- and what are you and your neighbors talking about? here are the numbers to call -- you can also find as online -- send us a tweet by typing @c spanwj. state and local governments are on their best financial shape since the recession. given leeway to cushion the u.s. economy from federal budget cuts.

here are some other stories in the news. this is from "the national council of state legislatures," which runs up what lawmakers are facing as they enter their session throughout the country. it says, --

it also looks at corrections costs. helping america become more energy dependent. and paying for transportation structure, roads, bridges, things like that. also, educating the workforce. let us take a listen to one of the governor's and what he had the say during this state of the state address. this is the governor of new york talking about new york state. >> yes it is hard to reform education. i know the politics of it. i know the problems. i know the issues. but, can you imagining how smart the state would be when we actually educate all of our children to the best of their god-given potential? when every black child and every

white child and every orphan child and every other child is educated to their full potential? i know helping the state economy is hard. i know it has been decades of decline. but can you imagine how successful our economy is going to be when that upstate economic engine is running at full speed , and buffalo, and syracuse, and albany. i know women have been treated unfairly for a long time. i know it is cultural. i know it is historical. i know it is difficult. if it can you imagines what the society could achieve when our women fully participate as equal partners in everything we do. i know that the issue of gun

control is hard. i know it is political. i know it is controversial. but we are proposing today common-sense measures and i say to you forget the extremists. it is simple. no one hunts with an assault rifle. no one needs 10 bullets to kill a deer. and too many innocent people have died already. and the madness now. -- end the madness now. make this state safer. save lives. let the rest of the nation look at new york and say "this is what you can do, and this is what you should do." you show them how we lead.

host: we are asking you what are the biggest issues facing your state or commonwealth. the comments are coming in on facebook and twitter. on twitter -- misery is dealing with the issue of being the only state with two cities -- and another tweet. facebook comments -- we will be talking about -- we will be talking with a reporter from florida in a moment. marks says a state government unwilling to stand up for the unalienable rights of the citizens.

crystal says violence is the biggest problem in her state. and we hear andrew cuomo from erik. james says in connecticut there are two major problems, the deficit and more taxes. both problems are created by one party rule. what are the big issues in your state? join that conversation on facebook by looking for c-span. let us take a look at the balance of power in state. we can see here who controls the governors' seats. 30 republicans states in red, 19 democratic, and one independent in rhode island. but as your what ray has to say on our democrats line. caller: good morning.

i wanted to say that i believe here in the state of texas -- our standard of living is what keeps is going. nobody can live on $7.25 hour. our standard of living is so below the economy it should be at $12 per hour. everything is so expensive right now. it should be, at the very least, $12 per hour. host: you are calling to raise the minimum wage? caller: yes, ma'am. if everybody makes at least $12 an hour, this country would boom so fast.

here in the state of texas -- i think it is everywhere. the corruption of the governor and the mayor. big corporate donors, big business owners. they are so many laws -- there are so many laws. they treat you like slaves. host: how is the issue of immigration factoring into what is happening in texas? if we expect the president to make remarks on immigration in las vegas this week. caller: it falls back on the standard of living. it does not matter if you are an immigrant or not. if you are a person that is

living in the country that does not provide the wealth to keep your family strong, and at the same time enough money that the government -- every week. host: thank you for your call. the highest salary is $179,000. the lowest is in maine for $70,000. the average governor salary is $130,000. billy is up next in florida on the independent line. caller: hello. i was watching the local news the other day in florida. they had gov. scott in

tallahassee saying they had not see an -- they had not seen any money for the medicare program. >> what did you make of that? caller: i think they are in trouble. i am 75 years old and i have lost my medicare coverage. host: are you following the choices the better scott is making in terms of the health- care law? caller: i did not have any comment about what gov. scott says about it. host: what else is going on down in florida? how is the economy? caller: i watched the governor comments yesterday and scott walker had a great idea. he was talking about the working class people. host: and how did that make you respond? caller: about the working class.

i am glad we are not all considered blue-collar. host: let us take a look at a palm beach post about florida's governor. it says he is taking a softer tone. it says --

-- women to get free contraception and seniors to get breaks on prescription drugs. scott continues to reiterate his philosophy for health care. wichita kansas, republican line. hi, bill. caller: thank you for having me on. one little short comment -- our economy seems to be doing rather well here. it seems like things are well. i have lived here all my life. i am really sick of all these gun shows that are going on. it just seems like it has gotten completely in the same. i can remember taking my kids 10 years ago -- we are hunters.

we used to have one or two a year. in the last six months we have had five gun shows in our local community. other media have made this thing completely out of control. it almost looks like the last gun show i went to two weeks ago -- people were literally almost fighting over parking spaces and running to the door like they were selling tickets to see the muppets. if everyone could come down -- it has gottenow down, completely out of control.

host: it says the kansas governor and republicans are seeking to immelmann -- seeking to eliminate the income tax. many in the republican party in kansas hope will certification recalled it will serve as a model of conservative governance for other states, if not the nation, to follow. caller: i am all for that. i think several other states are for that. i voted for him. he is black away at things and i am all for that. -- he is whacking away at things and i am all for that. host: here is what the new york times says --

doug is up next in fort worth, texas on our democrat line. caller: double very much for taking my call. i just wanted to follow-up on a call a minute ago relating to the guy that called in about -- host: about texas or someplace else? caller: i am in texas but i am calling to follow up about the call earlier how workers -- in texas -- ho host: i think we lost him. a republican caller in

massachusetts. good morning. caller: the biggest issue facing our state is the fraud in the welfare system. we see good hard-working folks go to work every day. we have what they weebt cards. they give them $500 worth of food on that card. people are buying liquor, cigarettes, and the hard-working people of massachusetts are fed up. in the governor pretty much dances around the issue with -- pretty much dances around the issue candidly. you see the waste that the government does not seem to want to bother to nip it in the guide -- and it did in the bud. -- and a bit in the bud. we just tried ago to work into the right thing every day.

i do not mean to jump around. if we see the lobbyist in dc, the government's for sale. i just think we need some type of revolution in this country to get back to our core values. that is pretty much it. host: tell us about what you think about governor duval patrick. caller: he is pretty much a liberal. i think he is grooming himself for the obama administration. i know he is going to be going into the administration for some type of position. he is not a bad man. he did come down here to promote the south coast rail system, which we have been waiting for for 40 years. all liberal issues he is just a little bit too lenient.

we have so much waste in government. i would like to see someone conservative in the governorship to weed out all this fraud. we go to work hard every day and we shake our heads when we come home every night. host: let's take a listen to one of the republican governors in the country who has become a leading voice in gop issues. this is chris christie in his state of the state address. he starts by talking about hurricanes in the budde goes from there. >> there is plenty of evidence that new jersey has not let's stop our turnaround. and i'm unemployment is coming down -- unemployment is coming down. 2011 was our best private sector job growth in 20 years. personal income set a record

high in new jersey for the seventh quarter in a row. income tax receipts -- sales of new homes are up. consumer spending is up. industrial production is up. since i took this office participation in new jersey's labor force is higher in the nation. more people have the confidence to be out looking for jobs and more people actually have jobs. we have added very -- we have nearly 75,000 new jobs since it took office in 2010. i mentioned the words private- sector advisedly because we are not pro-government. we got our house in order by keeping our promise to reduce the size of government. in the last three years we have cut more than 20,000 government

jobs. 2012 we have your state government employees off than at any time since january of 20013 f we have delivered. we may new jersey a more attractive place to grow business, grow jobs, and raise a family. this legislature knows this. in the fiscal year 2010 we faced a $2 billion budget deficit. there are only five and half months left in the fiscal year when he took office. we cut 200 programs, balance the budget with new taxes. in 2011 the picture was even worse. we projected an $11 billion deficit. in percentage terms, the worst in america. we cut 832 programs.

and 8% cut in real dollars spent. again we balance the budget without raising taxes. last year's budget was a little bit easier. we actually began to reduce taxes by enacting the first year of job-creating small business tax cuts in neuter see. meanwhile, we devoted a record amount to research in new jersey. even with the national economy slowing we have achieved balance with a second year of small business tax relief. let me make this point, clearly and unequivocally reject the challenges sandy present for our economy, i will not let new

jersey go back to its old ways of wasteful spending. we will continue to deal with our problems by protecting the hard work -- the hard earned money. we will not turn back. [applause] host: that as the governor of new jersey. here are comments coming in on twitter. "the biggest problem in new jersey is property taxes which goes to pay high salaries and benefits for teachers and municipal workers." bill says, "the biggest issue is finding a democrat strong enough to run against the defeat krupp bridget defeat gov. chris christie." roger joins is now from tennessee on the independent line -- joins us now from

tennessee on the independent line. caller: [indiscernible] -- they just sit home and get get debt. they have become lazy. host: my on our republicans line. -- mike on our republican line. caller: i want to comment on the prescription pills on our state. we have an epidemic in our state where you cannot even leave your home to go to the store. if you leave your house in a war area -- in a rural area, you could go away for two weeks.

now when you leave your home people will draw your home, anything you haven't. when they do catch these guys for breaking and entering, cable just get a slap on hand a few times and put them back on the street. you have the same problem again. the gun issue is if you do not have any weapons in your home, these people will come in with shotguns. then you have to defend yourself. if you do not have any firearms in your home. these people are animals, they did not care what they do the people. it is unreal. it is like a little epidemic going on. it undermines the young people in our states.

these people are military age where they go into the military. it's kind of like an attack on our society. it sure does weaken the population down. i think it is weakening our country's structure from the inside. host: what would you like to see your state do about it? caller: they are cracking down on a lot of the doctors. i am -- i am not against foreigners coming into the country. it is not just the white people, the black americans are getting done in like this. host: foreign doctors? caller: my wife is on these pills and she died of a heart

attack in february. every time she went into a doctor they prescribed xanax. i think they need to stop it altogether. if you track down these guides, give them a life sentence. they need to work them real good. host: i am sorry about the loss of your wife. thank you for your phone calls. we will talk to the tallahassee bureau chief of the miami bureau. caller: good morning. host: what of the biggest challenges for the faces? -- what are the biggest challenges florida faces? caller: the economy is moving on a little bit better than it has been. we have seen the real estate

market picking up here. it certainly is not at a pace that is enough to bring the state back to a good financial picture. for the first year, we probably will not see decline in revenue. we are also just treading water. the other thing -- the number of foreclosures on home owner property in the state is not declining. florida continues to lead the nation in that area. if it continues to be a problem. host: one of our callers earlier talked about the federal health-care law and how realistic is dealing with it -- how real estate is dealing with it. can you still hear me? we can still hear you, can you hear us? i think we are having some phone

issues. we will see if we can straighten that out. in the meantime we will go to a few more calls. let us go to holbrook, massachusetts on the democrats' line. caller: and i am greatly pleased with the job the governor is doing. the only thing that comes to mind is the vacant senate seat. patrick should nominate martha kolbe who is currently a -- currently an attorney general in that state. host: we will go to diane. would you think is going on in south dakota? caller: there is a lot going on

here. i have lived here since 1979. the economy here has changed since then. we are in a mild recession. one thing going on here in hot springs where i live is, and they are planning to close our va hospital here. that is a big issue for not only south dakota but wyoming, nebraska, north dakota. people come from all over montana to go to our va. now, they want to close it. the native americans on the reservations have nowhere else to go. the point that the local head of

the va had made is that people have to travel too far to get services from the hospitals. those people now will be forced to drive anywhere from 70-100 more miles to get to a va hospital to get care. a nother problem here is we have a tremendously large elderly population in south dakota. i think they get most of their information from the media and not to -- kudos to c-span, but elderly people i think it most

of their information from the media. they need to have a more diverse -- a more diverse sources of information, in my opinion. host: miami florida is up next. hello, herbert. caller: rick scott promised jobs. we have not seen that yet. his approval rating is way down low. he is going to the martin luther king parade and he is trying to convince them, but we are up on rick scott. we need to stop this bickering between republicans and democrats. it is like a whole different civil war all over again. we need to go ahead -- they need

to realize -- a construction worker cannot keep lifting briggs, an iron worker cannot keep lifting hired when he is 65, 66, 68 years old. these are the people who build the structure of every build -- every building we have. we cannot keep lifting this heavy stuff. these lawmakers, they are the ones that have these degrees. how do you know anybody who is iron workers or construction workers who left blocks and do things like that -- how many of them are in office? not a one. we are not considered. they want us to keep working on the way until 70 years old. we cannot do it. they need to consider this. this is the only thing that keeps america going. it is the principle. the rich take care of the poor,

and the poor take care of the rich. we take care of each other. the money keeps turning around. we have some selfish people in offices now that are not considering. host: ok, let's leave it there. we will take up what you mentioned with mary ellen cloth, back with us on the line. caller: i apologize for that. host: to live for getting up so early. our last caller said he thinks rick scott is trying to reach up to the african-american community, but he says too little too late. what is the governor trying to do to make more inroads? caller: the governor has really had the popularity ratings that have stalled ever since he has been elected into office. one of the latest things he has been doing is after his first

term in which he spent some time really cutting the budget and balancing the budget, and that included reducing the education funding by $1.3 billion, he has turned a run and is now in the process of trying to win back some of his support, especially within the education community. he has recently come up with a proposal to get every full-time teacher in the state a $2,500 raise. that is one of the things he has been doing that is really going across the party line a little bit to try to reach out to teachers. host: how does florida have the money to pay for that? is there any push back? caller: the cost is estimated at $480 million. the governor has yet to give us

his budget proposal. he will be releasing that this week. we will see where he plans to pay for it. there has been some push back from the legislature. republican lawmakers say that they do not oppose giving teachers a raise, but they would prefer to have focused on the aligning teacher performance with the pay raises. that has been an effort they have been focused on for some time. they say the governor's proposal really undermines that effort. host: mary ellen klas, an earlier caller talked about the health care law. rick scott was an opponent of it. how does that balance things out in florida? caller: florida is an interesting situation. it has some challenges that they are really going to have to work out a in the next couple of months.

the legislature comes back into session in march. before then, there is a number of deadlines that the state has to meet. there is quite a bit of uncertainty, both within the business community and among the injured as to whether florida's ago or where florida is going. part of the reason is that the last two years gov. scott and the republican controlled legislature has really refrained from making any decisions that would implement health care law. part of that was because they were opposing it when they wear supporting the lawsuit and hoping it would be repealed. now they face a lot of mounting deadlines and some conflicts with the florida law. the office of insurance regulations has just last week said they have a lot of conflicted laws that conflict with the federal law and they cannot resolve them without

direction from the legislature. the legislature has been holding back on any decisions. they're not going to be meeting until march. we think this is just going to continue to proceed very slowly in florida. i am not sure how it will be resolved, or if it will be any time soon. host: one of the stories you have been covering is the ethics bill, a major ethics bill that legislatures are looking at in your state. why is the surfacing? what is the public reaction to ethics issues in florida? caller: there has not been any major, one singular scandal that has happened. there have been a few things a in the last election cycle where the incoming the -- somebody who is designated to be house speaker in two years was

unseated. part of the problem that he ran into was a lot of bad press about how he was choosing his campaign finance dollars. in florida, candidates can accept unlimited amounts of cash from political committees, but they're limited to hundred dollars a person each election for -- from individuals for their individual campaigns. there has been an avalanche of big money, kind of like the super pacs of the federal level, that has flooded into individual -- into this political committees. they are hard to trace. there is no prohibition on candidates using that money. that has been a little bit of a

black eye. the legislature has decided to put together a series of ethics respect -- ethics reform. among them is eliminating these political committees. that is something that is being pushed by the house. the senate is not quite there. the senate has responded with its own ethics proposals. among them, they would change a law that now allows for any elected official to go back -- any legislator -- legislators now cannot lobby the legislature for two years until they are two years of office. they can come back and lobby the executive branch. there has been a little bit of a revolving door where they go and work for a lobbying firm. the lobbying firm retains them to lobby the executive branch and all of the agencies, even

agencies whose budgets they were over sing as recently as a couple of months ago. -- overseeing as recently as a couple of months ago. this ethics reform coming from the senate would ban the practice. it would make a lot of other changes in terms of disclosure for voting conflicts and things like that. each chamber is kind of pushing ahead with a different approach to ethics. as you know, following legislative processes, you can imagine that when there is two bill's opposing each other, they will both get watered down. host: thank you so much for joining us this morning. caller: you are welcome. host: there is the front page of "the miami herald." we are asking you what the

biggest issues are facing your state. we will talk to a reporter in illinois and a little while. in the meantime, let's hear from texas. karen from fort worth. caller: proud of it. i guess my biggest concern is, if we do not stop what is going on in mexico and if we cannot stop what is going on in mexico, we are going to continue to have the problems that we have. that is a very high unemployment rate. they say we have this great employment rate. that is not true. we have some many people getting in the illegally, getting back door amnesty, which i am against. i know there is no race, creed, or origin in this country. but if you are not born here, you should go through the federal law and the state law.

my second concern is this. texas is a country. we can feed and take care of a lot of people. the climate for business is exceptional. i think rick perry has done a very good job. did he speak as a silver tongue the devil, know he has not. but he kept us away from a state tax. he is a republican and once better education, and we need better education. can the house and senate quit acting like they are little kids and act like older adults and remember reaganomics. the 20 years that i received at 58 now, i got to enjoy it 20 years of reaganomics, just like ann counter would say -- the best days and years of our lives, why can we not live like

that today? why does our commander in chief not one that on his record as well? host: let's take a listen to the governor of another state grappling with the arizona -- with immigration. jan brewer of arizona. [video clip] >> you cannot discuss arizona's relationship with the federal government without mentioning mexico. i have heard ernest calls for immigration reform. i agree our system is broken and has been for decades. to the reformers, i say demonstrate your standing commitment to secure the border by making that your first priority. [applause] thank you. after so many broken promises, so many starts and stops with border security, join me in

holding the federal government to account. [applause] once our border is secure, i pledge to work with all fair minded people to reform our nation's immigration system. it must once again combined a rule of law and human compassion, providing safety for our citizens and facilitating our economic relationship with mexico. we have already seen the border largely secured in the yuma sector. the steep decline in border crossings is proof that our border can be secured when the federal government employees the right mix of fencing, manpower and technology. now i ask -- [applause] i asked the president to finish the job. secure the tucson sector, the most heavily traveled sector for

illegal crossings into this country. fulfill your promise to the american people, and i will make it online. [applause] -- i will make good on the mind. -- on mine. in the meantime because i will never shy away from taking actions necessary to protect our state, i will be issuing an executive order establishing a task force against even trafficking. this is truly a crime against humanity. where men, women, and children are forced into slavery or prostitution. cindy mccain has been a leading voice against him and trafficking. i look forward to working with her and legislators to combat this problem. host: arizona gov. jim brewer. here is a comment on twitter.

here is a story from local tv station wbtv in charlotte about this. it says the idea to eliminate an income tax is enticing, but if it does away the state will have to raise the sales tax. it is an idea gaining popularity with republican leaders. send us a tweet and tell us what say you are from and what you are talking about and what you have to share with us. that is @cspanwj. jamie is up next on the independent line. caller: good morning. i would like to preface by setting, can i have enough time to get my point across?

we have a new governor who left congress as a member of the tea party caucus, which was headed by the likes of michelle bachman. i am pessimistic about our future at this point in time because we are pretty much being overtaken by tea partyism. the republican party could have taken over the senate if not for more -- richard burr doctor was able to run richard lugar it way from the senate. we had a democrat that was able to reach across the aisle and get things accomplished. the tea party do does seem to want to work anyway. it is their way or the highway. mike pence even caucused with the tea party with the united states house of representatives. i am not too optimistic about where things are going to go in

the state. we are going to be hyper partisan because mike pence was able to come to political stardom by an extreme right wing the talk-show host. i think it will be a bad thing for the state of indiana when there are so many things we need to do to work together. the tea party does not want to work together. i listened to your phone calls, i heard a man from massachusetts. i guess he thinks we are not aware of what he is saying. i guess his biggest problem is black people. he spoke ill of the governor, but tried to do it in a sophisticated way in which we did not understand. when he started talking about people needing something, the code words they use now is just a little more sophisticated than the way these people who really are court recess that we let fly under the radar screen since we have this president that is non-

white. we pretend we do not know what they are saying or what they mean. the board the talk the more we know what it is. -- the more they talk the more we know what it is. we have to accept the fact we have a person who is not totally white running the country. black people have accepted their half, white people need to accept their half and come together and get things done. these first four years were extremely hard. he did us with all the obstruction and filibustering a record number -- he was still able to do a lot. host: we are keeping our focus on the states here this morning. let's look at an article touching on what you brought up. your governor mike pence. it's is near the end of his state of the state address, he was supposed to deliver a tribute to ronald reagan. perhaps because his speech was

running a bit long, he dropped the paragraph that it -- referred to rick in's speech that from 1982 in which he supported the federal government giving more leeway to states. he may have decided paragraph was not necessary because his entire speech paid homage to the late president. the theme was about reagan's type of conservatism. he calls it a smiling conservatism that could update the angry face many republicans tend to show these days. pence paid tribute to teachers, farmers, veterans, students, entrepreneurs, legislators, and others. we are going to look at another stage, this one illinois. we go to amanda. thank you for being with us. caller: thank you for having me. host: give us a sense of illinois's budget problems.

caller: the budget problems are back, that is frightening given that they did hike the income tax and that is set to expire next year. that could lead to more budget problems. illinois has made a lot of cuts. a major cuts to medicaid in the past year as well as other programs. illinois right now is dealing with a $100 billion unfunded liability in the state pension system. that is really the one major budget issue. the more that illinois is giving to pay down the pension debt, the less it can go to other programs. you have already seen cuts to education, schools, and more of that is expected. host: tell us about taxes. the temporary tax cut is set to expire in a couple of years. is that already being talked about right now? caller: right now you have gov.,

a democrat who took over. he was the lieutenant governor and won the election by himself. he has been seen as a week governor. already are hearing potential democratic challengers as well as a very wide swath of republicans that went to run against pat quinn. part of that is the expiration of the income tax rate. it is set to expire in 2014. what will illinois do without the money? you hear calls from republicans say we have to cut. democrats say we have cut already. nobody wants to run an election on raising income taxes. illinois thanks, it is politics.

it is politics before government in many ways. this potential challenge to pat quinn, the next legislative session that is really just getting under way. host: what is on the agenda? what are they talking about? caller: today he is expected to sign legislation that would give a legal immigrants or those living here without papers the ability to drive. it would be on a temporary basis. it would not be able to use these documents for identification to get on a plane. it would have to take a driver's test and would be required to get insurance. that is expected to be signed today. that may be due to the surgeon latino populations and an

attempt to curry favor with that voting block, something that illinois has talked about for a long time. that is today. also on the horizon is same-sex marriage. that is something illinois legislators tried to pass at the end of the lame-duck session and did not quite have the support. this year they have an overwhelming democratic majority. illinois has recently been a democratic state, but now we have historic numbers in the senate and the house. not just because they are democrats it will be easy to pass these more liberal agenda. a lot of the democrats elected come from downstate. that is more conservative steward of democrat. a lot of ways you have the republicans from the suburbs of chicago being more liberal or at least moderate than some of these democrats. that is something there is a major push for. a lot of republicans want to see

it off the table as they are seeing growing popularity to support gay marriage. they went that off the table before they have to make a run against quinn. i will also add guns. in illinois they are watching what is going on at the national level. i think it is an even bigger issue here in was because of the gun violence in chicago. that regional divide i hinted at. you have legislators very pro- gun control. there are a lot of legislators. the rest of the state, people are hunters. there is an attempt to ban assault weapons, the magazines and such. on the other spectrum and what makes illinois interesting is that just before the horrific

shootings in the newtown, a federal court handed down a ruling that will require illinois to pass something that lifts its ban on concealed carry. right now illinois is the only state that does not allow individuals to carry guns with them in public. that ruling will require some variety of that. you have the nra and such saying, we will make sure this is drafted to our liking. otherwise we will go back to court. it is interesting because as you have a national attempt at looking at gun control, ill. it will have to lift that. host: you can find her website uif.org. thank you for joining us this morning. giving us the sense of what is

going on in her state of illinois. -- wuis.org. but the to eric on the democrats' line. caller: i recently moved to seattle, but i am a visitor to georgia. i would like to talk about these crooked senators from georgia. all of them have been caught up in scandal's in the banking system. every republican politician. they are doing nothing to help the education of our kids. they are worried about social problems. they just enacted a restriction on abortion. these people are not doing nothing in washington to protest. most of them are tea party people. when you go to watch, -- you go there to work for your stay. are doing nothing. this is the one reason why i am

moving to seattle washington. these people seem like they are still a in the civil war. host: that is eric calling us from seattle, washington. we will continue talking more about the biggest issues facing your state. coming up next, at joshed good men will join us -- josh goodman about what states are doing to confront the challenges before them and what role the federal government can play. first, it looked at what is coming up on >> of today's talk shows, some of the topics include foreign policy, and control, and women's abortion rights. it begins at noon eastern with cdc's "meet the press."

at 1:00 p.m., but the ranking member of the foreign relations committees, senator john mccain, of addendas -- bob menendez. at two o'clock p.m. it is "fox news sunday." and assistant majority leader -- the state of the union follows at 3:00 p.m.. also a retired general and former cia director. administered by dianne feinstein and gov. bob macdonald of virginia and gov. scott

walker of wisconsin. at 4:00, bob schieffer talks with senator dianne feinstein. the sending network talk shows this afternoon on c-span radio are brought to you by a public service by the network and c- span. the re-air begins -- you can listen to them all on c- span radio. nationwide on at some satellite radio channel 119. you can listen to on your smart phone or go online to c- spanradio.org >> what is the best training for a policeman? >> the best training -- you

learn how to develop sources, you learn how the use intelligence information, you learn how to leverage relationships. that is the key. people in the community trust. they will tell you when things are happening that are not yet crime so that you can intervene. and they will tell you all about how to go about doing that. i have learned the most for my career from those relationships. >> from high school dropout and single mother to the youngest police chief in washington d.c. history. more with cathy lanier tonight at 8:00 on c-span's q &a. host: document is our guest. -- joshua redman is our guest. thank you for being here. callerere. guest: for the first time in a

number of years we have good news to report on the state budget. states cut spending, they raise taxes. they often have to go back and cut their budgets even more in the middle of the year. what we have seen in the last couple of years, gradually state budgets have approved a pretty -- have improved. there are also lots of states that have a lot of problems. you are starting to see some states with budgets. the choices states are making are very different than they were in previous years. in previous years you had states raising taxes and cutting spending. this year the discussions are cutting taxes. there is also a discussion of

replenishing but the research. host: states doing the best and worst? caller: some of the states with budgets are pluses include michigan, indiana, iowa, texas's but it is a lot stronger. one of the big surprises is california, which has been in trouble state. in the short-term their situation is a lot better. they might even have a budget surplus this year. this is in contrast with the multi-billion dollar budget shortfalls they faced in recent years. a lot of places are doing better. places that still have shortfalls include washington, louisiana, connecticut, there are a number of states as anyone had heard a few minutes ago.

certainly it is a mixed picture. even a mixed picture can have improvement over where things were a few years ago. guest: hoshost: let's take a lio what the governor of connecticut had to say in his state of the state address. >> we have faced many challenges, the longest -- a struggling economy, a fractured public school system, untenable energy costs. and natural disasters the likes of which our generation has never seen. and then in december to slightly thought the worst happened -- just when we thought the worst had happened, it actually did. the people of connecticut, the communities you represent, we met the challenges head on. we did as our forefathers did come as our grandparents and parents taught us to do. we dug in and band together.

we decided to focus on not what makes this different but what makes us the same. our common humanity. it is this course strength and that spirit of community that brought us together to accomplish so much on behalf of the people of connecticut. two years ago, we faced the single largest per-capita deficit in the nation. it was a problem that in the making. we knew that getting our fiscal house in order was critical to creating jobs. connecticut employers needed irresponsible and predictable partner in state government. we can together to balance budget. we added more in revenues. even after revenues came in short as they did in 31 states we know today that our budget has enacted more than 69% of the problem. republicans came together to make sure we close that final

gap of raising taxes. anyone that tells you the budget we passed two years ago did not do its job, that it did not make real change, is simply not telling the truth. connecticut gov.t: malloy. your reaction? caller: we think about hurricane sandy and the new town shooting as major crisis that he had to deal with. certainly they were. but he was in a crisis environment from the moment he stepped in. his approach was to enact the biggest tax increase in the country and the biggest in connecticut history. at the same time he was doing that he was making budget cuts. there was a real flight with public employee unions in canada as a kid. -- a real fight with public employee unions in connecticut. he really had some hard choices

to make over the last couple of years. connecticut stands out. host: here is a recent story from "usa today," -- let us talk about the mandates states have to balance their budgets. here is from. how significant is that? guest: the wasted governments -- it is very significant. state governments could not say that we would put these bills on. they have ways around balanced

budget requirement. there are ways to make the budget look balanced on paper without being really balance. they cannot act in a countercyclical way, spend money when things did bad. they tend to cut money when things did that in the economy. then it drags itself on the economy. that is why you have the federal government stepping in to help states. host: if you elect to tell us about the issues facing your state, here are the numbers to call -- you talked about the state having more we go room. what is the predominant trend in terms of cutting taxes versus spending? should we start spending some of that money?

or are still putting it away for a rainy day? guest: it is a mixed picture. you had all of the states, mostly with republicans in charge, talking about cutting taxes or potentially eliminating their personal income tax. that would be a really dramatic statement. no state has eliminated its income-tax since more than 30 years ago. in the last case they had tremendous oil wealth that was bringing money to the state. now you have kansas, louisiana, north carolina at talking about eliminating income taxes entirely. you have governors in indiana and wisconsin talking about cutting income taxes. that is one of the big themes out there. there is a pent-up demand for services -- states have cut

their budgets. people are interested in education. a lot of states are interested in an reserves. -- in reserves. host: we will go to brandy on our republican line. -- we will go to a randy on our public mind. -- on our republican line. caller: we are mostly oil and gas here. no state income tax. we have a rainy day fund of $1.5 billion. and our state primarily is run by republicans with few social programs that are negligible. it is an example that we are lucky because of the extent of the mineral industry here. host: what do you think of your

governor? caller: i voted for him. i thought he was going to be a little bit too moderate for my case. -- to moderate for my taste. fortunately i was wrong. he has taken a hard line on a lot of things. he is helping us to get the wolf off of the endangered species list. it is a big issue here. he is a good deal maker with the feds. he is a good deal maker. host: thank you for your call. guest: what he's saying rings true in a number of states. as he mentioned, in north dakota, if there was one state that never really had a

recession it was north dakota with the oil boom in the western part of the state. wyoming fits into that picture, too. as i mentioned, the places that do not have income taxes -- wyoming does have these natural resources that to help its budget. as other states contemplating eliminating income taxes that is the question. without that that revenue can you make the numbers work? host: this is skinner bob macdonald giving the state of the state address a couple of weeks ago talking about the state's relationship and the federal government. [video clip] >> we must provide -- we must prepare for the unprecedented certainty that is created in washington. our conservative budget forecasts and focus on cash reserve does just that.

compared to other states virginia does not have a structured budget problem. virginia manages it that carefully. -- its debt carefully. while that is good, major changes are coming from washington d.c. and we know they have to. and they will test us. i want to thank the leadership of the chairman for the things they have done to manage this budget for the last couple of years. but the problem in washington is real. we are 16 trillion dollars in debt. we added four trillion dollars on new year's day. washington continues to fall deeper into functional government paralysis. there is no bipartisan bill to cut spending and unfair -- and

reform entitlements. decades of overspending has led to an embarrassing situation of fiscal irresponsibility. but the problem is virginia is uniquely vulnerable to our high because of our high proportion of federal workers and spending. for get the drama in washington. i propose that we add another $50 million to more than double our rainy day fund to nearly $740 million by the end of this fiscal year. i also ask that you paul starr recently created federal action to dc trust with tax funds to help immediately address the negative impact from the anticipated federal actions. the economic downturn has been difficult for our counties and cities. some of the policies we have passed here have made it worse. that is why this session i am

proposing $45 million from the budget fully eliminate the awkward policy of localities writing checks back to the state at the end of the fiscal year. host: governor mcdonald of virginia. joshed good men, how is the federal government's situation? -- josh goodman, how is the federal government's situation? guest: virginia is a great state to talk about when you have that conversation. it was one of the five states in the debt ceiling crisis of 2011 that the credit agencies talked about lowering the triple a bond rating mohsen because of problems of the federal level. -- mostly because of problems at the federal level. the sequester -- it pushed off congress for only two months. but let a lot of states in

uncertainty. right now what states are doing is they're governors are proposing budget cuts but they are doing so with this backdrop of federal uncertainty because they do not know how much money is going to be coming from the federal government and they will not know for at least a little while longer. host: here is a comment on our facebook page. she says that companies continued to move out of rhode island. home prices below what towns assessed for tax purposes. a t-shirt to tell us where you are writing from -- be sure to tell us where you are writing from. let us go to leonard in michigan on our democrat line. caller: thank you for taking my call. good morning.

i just recently relocated here to michigan. i would say the state is doing very well from my aspect of it. i see how the auto makers repaid the government the money they have borrowed. why hasn't the government put that money back on the books to alleviate these trillions? do you know? guest: michigan is a state where, as you mentioned, the auto makers are doing better. michigan is a very interesting place when you talk about state's building to recover. it was a place where the recession -- it had a recession before the rest of the country. now it is a state that has been able to put some money into its rate a fund. the unemployment rate is still fairly high but it was lower than it was.

what happens between the automakers and the federal government is sort of beyond my view. michigan is an interesting state to watch. host: dodge goodman writes for "stateline." here is one of his recent places. -- recent pieces. guest: what happened were two things at the state level this past election. one of them was that republicans consolidated the gains they made in the 2010 election. at the state level it was a great year for repairs -- great year for republicans. we have seven of 10 states where republicans are in control of

the house and the governors. that will be something president obama will be dealing with over the next two years in office. he will be faced with states where republicans have a lot of power. this is not new in the last election but it has been going on for a decade. republican legislators become more republican and democratic legislators become more democratic. there is very little -- there's very little capacity to limit what the majority does. two significant extent it is up to the majority party to decide what happens in state policy this year. host: here is a map looking at gubernatorial make up across the country. you can see republican seats in

the red and democratic in blue. we see about 60% of the seats held by republicans and we see 38% held by democrats. that one independent it's the state of rhode island. in terms of legislatures, how important is it that the legislature is republican or democratic? who has more say? the governor house or the legislature? guest: we talk about ambiance separate code-equal branches of government. legislatures' matter. to do anything significant you have to have them both working together. legislatures are a critical and fascinating part of the american democracy. host: here is the legislative breakdown.

18 are in democratic control, for us but control, and one has a nonpartisan legislature. -- four are aplit control, and one has non-partisan legislature. guest: the one that houses in maine and minnesota and colorado and oregon. -- they won back houses in maine and minnesota and colorado and oregon. after the 2010 elections almost every state redrew their legislative decline tw. in many states the majority party gets to do what they want. you have states like michigan or ohio or wisconsin where

president obama won the states. you might typically think of them as democratic states. republicans were in charge of redistricting. they helped sustain their majorities with redistricting. host: here is a question on twitter -- aren't most states going to face issues with the lavish pensions and benefits they have given four years? guest: most have liabilities looking into the future. what states have been doing is they have been reducing the generosity of the benefits. they have been requiring employees to pay more. they have been contributing more of their own money to help pay for the benefits. one of the deepest problems as illinois. they have over $100 billion in pension reliability.

there was the debate over the changes to the pension system. it was something that will continue to come up. host: 2011, we see illinois topping the list. the jersey, arizona, and that the following as states with tight lists. caller: i have been washington journal for a long time and it has been getting harder and harder for me to do so because of all the baloney. all states are having problems with their financing because all of the stales going on on the internet, no taxes are being collected. there are no restrictions to what is going on on the

internet. people need to wake up. everybody is paying for everything one way or another. there are no freebies. when people want the government to do something they'd better look in the mirror and say how do i pay for it? all these people -- all these numbers people are kicking around, that is all kicked up by the politicians to come up with the picture they want to paint for the public. when they get elected they do with the want to do. i am getting sick and tired of the politicians. nobody is questioning them on what is going on. when people talk about entitlements, maybe they should look in the mirror and say what are my entitlements? what entitlements do the corporations get?

nobody questions them. host: so he is bringing up the question of the internet. guest: if there is something a lot of state officials agree on, they want to be able to attack -- eight -- they want to be able to collect online sales taxes. it is really starting to erode state budgets. you have republicans and democrats lobbying congress for that issue. meanwhile the states have been striking deals with amazon, the largest online retailer, to say in two or three years amazon will agree to collect online sales. there is some movement in that direction. they are waiting for congress to act. whether it is legislation in

congress to tax online sales -- it has not moved forward yet. host: let us take a look at what is happening in california. a headline on friday -- we will listen to jerry brown giving his state of the state of dress last week. -- address last week. [video clip] >> half a million students enrolled in community colleges in 2008. transition from one segment to another is difficult. the community colleges are all working on this. the key here is thoughtful change working with the faculty and college students. but tuition increases are not the answer. i am not one to let your students in california to become --

[indiscernible] [applause] california was the first in the nation to pass president obama's historical affordable care act. it will provide insurance to nearly 1 million californians. over the rest of the decade, california will steadily reduce the number of insured. today i am going to hold a special session to deal with these issues. the broader expansion of medicare is incredibly complex

and will take more time. we are taking relationships with the county's -- it will not be achieved overnight. great prudence should guide every step of the way. california lost 1.3 million jobs in the great recession. but we are coming back at a faster pace than the national average. it is one of the good bills. one of the companies we assisted with samsung. gobiz convinced samsung to place their research and development here in california.

we also leveled the field of internet sales taxes, paving the way for over 1000 new jobs. this year we should change the job hiring credit. we also need to rethink and streamline regulatory procedures tweet particularly beef environmental policy act. -- regulatory procedures. particularly the environmental policy act. [applause] host: gov. jerry brown of california. what is the big headline out of california? guest: the headline is definitely the improved situation. what california is the improved major tax increases -- they

approved major tax increases which helped them deal with the immediate problems. as you see there are questions about how ambitious california can or should be in the year ahead. governor brown definitely has a major plans including a high- speed rail system from northern california to southern california. that is good to take a lot of money and a lot of years to build. he has also been preaching caution to the legislature. california is one of the states where there are big a majority of democrats -- there are a bigger majority of democrats tweets it gives them more power with even just regular trips -- with just regular majorities. host: the new york times talked about the governor's position

compared to democrats. is he more law -- is the more moderate compared to the legislators in california? how is he stacking up to them in terms of the state's vision? >> one thing i have written about is when the governor gets the majority of his own party in the legislature or a bigger majority in the legislature, it is often a mixed blessing. on one hand he can advance his agenda more easily. on the other hand there is no backstop. he can be in that role of the person who have to say no. there have been times where that is exactly what he is going to do. there is a line he said, "this is a year of 1 foot on the brake and 1 foot very cautiously on the accelerator." definitely there is a sense -- and some republicans in california began to praise him. they are trying to get on his

good side. they think if there is any hope for him -- any hope for them it is persuading what comes out of the legislature. host: judge didn't rights for state line. -- josh goodman writes for "stateline." when he is a graduate of the university of virginia. he was a writer for the newspaper "the cavalier daily." we'll go to our independent line. what is going on in your state? caller: i was calling with regard to the state of connecticut.

many years ago we had a rainy day fund. we had an election year. instead of putting it into everyday fund, he has turned it to the taxpayers. i wrote and begged him not to send it back to the taxpayers but to put it into a fund -- like a rainy day fund. it passed anyway and he sent money back to people in the state of connecticut. host: josh goodman? guest: states are thinking about how big our rainy day funds should be. these are reserves states keep around four kinds of budget crisis. -- for all kinds of budget crisis is. . almost any state use the rainy

day funds during the aftermath. that makes sense. if there was ever everyday, this was it. states are wondering do we have to be ready for another great recession? is it 5% of our budget, 10%? how much money should we have in our reserves. should we get ready for the next recession? a lot of hard choices when it comes to read a fund's. host: here is a look at states with a surplus in 2011. indiana, iowa, and maine. twitter.a comedy fromt -- here is a comment from twitter. this follower talking about sales tax versus an income tax and a model based on

consumption. you mentioned some states are moving away from the income tax. guest: at the same time, some states with democrats in charge are talking about raising income taxes. devel patrick is talking about a higher income tax. ec states under democratic control and republican control on taxes, trying to move in different directions. it isn't just a debate about how much people should pay in taxes but who should pay? demographics -- democrats tend to be more progressive. republicans, they think it is the income tax that determines entrepreneurship and whether people invest. there is a big philosophical

argument going on at the state level. host: bill is on our democrats line from virginia. welcome. caller: thank you for taking my call. instead of sending us a survey they will send us a list of issues. global warming is a big issue. if we do not deal with this -- in southwest virginia people have gone crazy. host: we are having trouble with your phone call. we will take your topic and go to josh. guest: states were really active with global warming. if the federal government were to ask on climate change

legislation is likely they would use states as their model. california is now launching its own cap and trade system that applies to major polluters. a lot of experimentation going on at the state level. host: let us listen to the new governor of washington state. this is his recent inaugural address talking about climate change. [video clip] >> there is no greater challenge for washington with more opportunity for job growth in washignton and more suited to our particular brand of i ntinuity.

it is clear to me that we are at the right state at the right time with the right people. we face great and immediate danger if we fail to act. nine out of 10 of the hottest years on record happened in the past decade. we have had epic flooding, searing drought, devastating wildfires, and rising tides along our coast. our pacific northwest waters, including puget sound, are becoming too acidic due to carbon pollution. part of our shellfish industry already have had to move last year. in eastern washington our long tradition of agriculture could

be threatened if smoke -- the bank could fail if we do not act. as a parent and as a grandparent i cannot consciously accept the dangers of climate change for my family or yours. [applause] as a governor i cannot afford to look the other way or point fingers or deny these realities. and i cannot allow our states to miss this moment, which is our destiny to lead the world in clean energy.

all of us will have to square up to both our responsibilities and opportunities on climate change. host: jay inslee. josh goodman? guest: what a lot of states deal with is the effects of natural disasters. that includes her cane sandy on the east coast. you have governor chris christie in new jersey. a lot of their agenda is obviously recovery from a sandy. we have had severe drought in the central part of the state, which is a major problem for state. states like texas and kansas are talking about their water infrastructure and what they can do about that. even independent of the issue of climate change, natural disaster is front and center. host: let us go to bob on the

republican's line. caller: a few states are beginning to show surpluses. our governor reported that our state is beginning to show a surplus. is there a limit on what states finally attained over the years in terms of surpluses? also, i have not seen anything since wednesday over the benghazi hearings. host: let us focus on the first part of this question. guest: they bring in a certain amount of money, it is returned to taxpayers. even if states have surpluses right now, they still have substantial budget challenges.

states are being careful not to be too enthusiastic about their surpluses. during the recession and after mayor -- and afterwards states did things like accelerating revenue they brought in. they delayed spending so they would push off. they would raise money for one specific purpose and bring in the general funds. all of these things they did during the recession are still kind of living over their budget. those are short-term solutions. so even in a place that has a surplus you might still have the years ahead of dealing with the consequences of the recession. host: you can find all about the benghazi hearings -- all about the benghazi hearings on our web site. we will take a listen to the governor of iowa. he is talking about education and pointed out in his address that iowa is 25th in the nation

and only 8% of their eighth grader said scored at advanced level in math -- of their eighth graders scored at advance levels in math. [video clip] >> today i propose boosting minimum teacher salaries from $28,000 to $35,000 per year, a 25% increase to reduce the amount of financial sacrifice that students must make in order to enter the teaching profession. additionally i propose a significant expansion of a program administered by the college commission.

priority will be placed on students majoring in hire subjects like math and science. awards will go to future teachers in other majors as well. the initiative includes a pilot to expand the traditional one semester student teaching to a year long apprenticeships in partner schools. stronger clinical experiences stand to better prepare future teachers. the third piece of our plan to revitalize education in iowa is a new college or career ready field that high school students may earn in addition to their diplomas. we want business and education leaders to set high standards for these fields. beginning next year, students will have the option at the state's expense of taking college entrance or work force

ready test. our program will make it clear what it needs to be college or kabir ready based on real world expectations from iowa businesses and educations. -- businesses and educator leaders. more businesses will locate and expand here. as a result, more young people will stay in iowa because they can give them good jobs that pay well and allow them to enjoy a great quality of life. our children deserve our best. this is our opportunity. this is our iowa. host: the governor of iowa talking about his plan for education. we are seeing a trend of republican governors boosting things like education. guest: we are seeing a lot of governors talk about restoring money that was cut during the recession. education was a huge part of that. not as teachers, of public

employees were hurt hard during the recession. some of them lost their jobs, they had to contribute more to the pensions. now we are seeing a shift where paying public workers is -- paying them a little more is of the people are talking about. gov. mcdonald in virginia had an example where he is supposed to give teacher pay increase but he is going at length at other educational reforms. the governor of arizona is proposing a higher pay only if they agree to give up some of their civil service protection. there is that dynamic where in some cases it trade-off is going on. host: an independent scholar

from birmingham, alabama. caller: good morning to c-span. happy new year's. absolute power can corrupt absolutely. here in birmingham, we on the verge of the largest nation bankruptcy. the republican control commission here is kept closed. has kept close to the public hospital. on the 50th anniversary of the 50th -- on 50 the anniversary of the civil rights act. -- on the anniversary of thcivil rights act.

on a closing note, just a report came out that the state about alma -- of alabama has revised -- if you just paid an expert -- if you would just play an exit of the governor. guest: a couple of things he mentioned. one is the challenge that local governments have. when you look ahead, now the state to coming out of the recession, one of the things they are still dealing with our problems at the local level. states often have to step in when local governments have financial problems.

in pennsylvania, michigan, rhode island, the problems of local governments are the problems of state officials. host: we have not heard yet from the governor of alabama for the state of state address that will be coming in a couple of weeks. caller: as we all know, big money from a deep pocket contributors really controls the congress in washington. whether it is the republican house or democratic senate. in my opinion it also controls the white house. if we all know president obama in the last election raised $1 billion. it did not come from little grandma's with candela checks. my point is this -- the same is true in virtually every state legislature and virtually every

state governor office. their own local deep pocket people really control the legislature's and governor's office. is that true? guest: just like in federal elections, there is talk about money spent in state elections. there are some states talking about changing campaign finance laws this year. new york is a good example. the governor is talking about campaign finance. host: let's take a look at governors and the tenant dubliners -- most are from the same state.

53 are from the same party for loot -- for governor and lieutenant governor. guest: in different states, the rules about whether a governor and lieutenant governor have to be from the same party differed. you can have a case for the lieutenant governor is from a different party. that is one more person who may be disagreeing with the governor at times. it is something that states have the do not see at federal level. host: 83 says the maryland legislature is considering another tax increase. -- a tweet says the maryland legislature is considering another tax increase.

we have a call from mary. hello. caller: i am asking if it is constitutionally legal when they passed a law that the legislature and gov. are all one party. it has a clause that it can never be changed. it can never be changed back, it never can be voted upon again. is that legal to do? guest: i am certainly not a michigan constitutional scholar. i will tell you about the right to work law. that was this big event in michigan. michigan is one of the most heavily unionized states in the country. in the waning days of 2012, republicans controlled michigan legislature and passed a law to make it a right to work state. business groups were strongly in favor of it. labor unions strongly opposed --

this is what we have seen in the past couple of years. some of the most contentious issues have been business and labor issues, whether it is right to work. also collective bargaining for state employees in wisconsin and indiana and ohio. business and labor has been the dominant story line struck the midwest. host: 8 tweet says it is bad in michigan. we do not even have art class. let us take a listen to the governor of michigan. this is rick snyder did in his state of the state address. [video clip] >> i wish washington d.c. would follow the model we are creating about the basis of what we are doing here. if you talked washington d.c., tell them to look to michigan -- if you talk to someone from washington d.c., tell them to look to michigan. [applause]

to give you a couple of illustrations, back in 2010 when i took office we looked at the rainy day fund. what was the balance of the rainy day fund? two million dollars. the current balance is in excess of $500 million. that a success. -- that is success. another huge win was on retirement reform. the first way is a materially reduced the future liabilities of our citizens by over $21 billion. that equates to $2,200 for every man, woman, and child in the state of michigan. those are real savings that will accrue to their benefits that they would otherwise have to pay. [applause]

the second piece of it is it is important for people in their retirement programs to count on having those retirement dollars show up when they retire. we had not been responsible in terms of state government. we are being responsible now. we are going to work hard, we are going to continue on this path, and you'll have a path or you can count on having that requirement check -- having debt retirement check when you retire. -- having that retirement check when you retire. we worked on getting state employees were fired up. it was creating an environment where they can go online and submit ideas. we had 10,000 employees participate in putting it in over 100,000 boats for different

ideas -- 100 thousandvote votes for different ideas. this is about serving our citizens. host: governor snyder of michigan. he talked about the rainy day fund. guest: if you wanted to point to two states where the recovery has been most striking, california i mentioned because of the depth of the problems. michigan has really made this point to really start rebuilding. that is a priority of gov. snyder. it is something a lot of other states are doing already were talking about doing as well. host: birmingham -- new york, a

call. you are on c-span. caller: i was wondering if your guest could expand on the state of new york financially. a couple of quick direct questions -- i saw yesterday on the news regarding the pension system, it said $8.8 billion was orchestrated to retirees last year. 8.8 out, 230 going in. i was wondering if you had any insight on the retirement system. if you could give me a general overview on how you think new york is doing -- thank you. guest: the last numbers i saw had a relatively short budget policy this year. in the immediate budget situation is not the best one out there.

it was much more dire a few years ago. certainly with retirement systems in every state, one of the big questions has been whether states make their payments into the pension system that they are required to make. that is what got states like illinois or new jersey in trouble. there is an amount of money the actuary says they need to put into the system and they were not putting that money in so that further and further behind. new york is a state where they have already been -- there have been this series of changes over the years. it is still an issue the state is talking about. both state employee pensions but also at the local government level host: josh goodman is a writer at "stateline."

he will stay with us for a few more minutes. dave is on our democrats line. welcome to caller: thank you for taking my call. i wanted to talk about medicaid. a personal note, i have a son who was disabled as a child. he is living at home as an adult and we would like to see him placed in some type of government housing, a group home, etc., under the long term care aspect of medicaid. right now, he's eligible but it is based on state funding whether or not to expand what they're doing right now. if your guest could expand on that, i would appreciate it. thank you. guest: certainly. as it was describing, medicaid is a program that has already

served millions upon millions of americans. low-income people but also people with disabilities. expansion is something that they're really struggling with this year. the supreme court ruling gave the states more power in this ruling. it said the medicare expansion, which the government had intended for every state, now was a choice for the states to make. you are already seeing states going different direction that would cover adults up to 133% of the federal poverty line. they are saying that they do want to expand medicaid. republicans say they do not want to. the have seen a few republican joe runners -- governors like jan brewer and others saying

yes, they do want to expand medicaid. every state has the choice to make the decision. host: let's take a listen to the governor of nevada giving his state of the state address giving out this particular issue. [video clip] >> i announced nevada would comply with the affordable care act as they related to the expansion of medicare services. as a result, some 78,000 more nevadans will have coverage without facing the new tax penalties imposed by the affordable care act. [applause] the federal law allows us to shift the mental health and other state spending to other

sources say. the general on nearly $25 million over the biennium. over the next six years, this will create up to 8000 new health-care jobs and inject over half a billion dollars into where state's economy. as i noted before, we must increase taxes to bear the increased cost of the affordable care act, but the issue of the long-term health care costs remain. as such, i believe we must ask certain medicaid patients to have a modest contribution. i will insist nv will be able to opt out of the expansion program in early -- in later years should circumstances change. [applause] beyond medicaid, my budget

provides additional funding for our state's most vulnerable citizens. it includes more support for autism, early intervention services, piloting, 24-7 healthcare, increase in community-based services for the disabled and senior citizens. [applause] we have all been touched by the housing crisis over these last few years. thousands attended a free housing events in vegas want to buy our own department of business and industry called home means nevada. over 250 representatives from banks met with home owners and provided help on the spot.

many received assistance that that event, but we must continue to do more. working with the attorney general, my administration will use these funds to assist those in nevada who have been hardest hit by the housing crisis. we are obligated as leaders to find ways to keep people live in their homes and families together . i would use every means at my disposal to help people to stay in their most important possession, their home. [applause] the recession has hurt the entire nevada family. state employees have seen their pay cut and they have been required to take unpaid furlough

days. tonight, i am announcing that we will be able to provide some relief to them as well. merit pay will be restored beginning july 1st, 2014 and the number required furlough days will be cut in half as of july 1st this year. thank you to all state employees. [applause] host: governor sandoval of nevada. the hieadline said it was the first to back obamacare medicaid expansion. how has this been received? >> fairly well across lines. even republicans have been pretty supportive. we are seeing those who oppose the federal health care law and they're being tempted by the medicare expansion. it is a very enticing deal for states. in the first years, the

government pays the costs. in the future, that gradually scaled down to 90%. for the critics, expansion will say it will not stick to the 90- 10 split. there are a lot of hospital groups relented in having this help. even republicans to disagree with the president directly starting to talk about it. host: from massachusetts on our independent line. hello, craig. caller: i got to talk about the proposals he had for the tax increases. the income tax, this is that the highest levels because most of their income comes from investment and not earned income. it is a separate tax.

the poor get back most of the taxes they pay in to the state through the earned income tax credit. i feel like the middle class, from the high to the low, they will take the lion's share of the tax there. taxing of below levels, it is at a higher percentage of their incumbents because all of it is spending on those of the highest levels spend a smaller percentage of their income to live and have the advantage of a tax system created for this advantage. during the debates with romney and obama, he mentioned that they were going to be just fine because obama was the champion of the koran the middle class and romney is the champion of the upper class. those investors are going to

save the country. the point made by obama is that they were going to be just fine. i guess, where the way the tax structure have set up, they can get down to 10% because they can get tax is done because of corporations and the whole ball of wax. the other taxes considered by patrick included a gas tax and a toll increase on the pike. insurance pay the tolls and pay the gap. the rich people and the higher- income people will not be paying this tax at the same percentage. host: let's take a look at some of the details you hinted that. the associated press says he

wants to hide to the income-tax from 5.25% up to 6.25% while eliminating itemize deductions. he is calling for reducing the sales tax from 6.25% down to 4.5%. guest: the distributed effects of tax changes are a big thing about that states are debating. democrats like patrick want to make the tax code more progressive and hit people at the higher-income level, in these states talking about eliminating or raising, the balance between income tax and sales tax is a big part of what they are debating this year. host: deval patrick in his own words that the state of the

state address. [video clip] >> i propose a greater reliance on the income-tax and less reliance on the sales tax. [applause] i it proposed because the sales tax from the current rate of 6.25% to 4.5% and dedicate all of the proceeds to a public works bond that will support the transportation plan i have laid out, existing responsibilities and the necessary expansion projects as well as the school building bonds and other public infrastructure. under my plan, sales tax proceeds would be off-limits for any other purpose, to support education initiatives, we will propose we increase the income tax 1% to 6.25%.

according to their ability to pay to make it fair for all. i propose we double the personal exemptions for every taxpayer and eliminate a number of itemized deductions. making those changes gives us a tax code that is simpler and more fair. let me add that with these changes, sales come income, and business taxes will become terrible to a competitive with other states in the region and beyond with which we compete. this is what i will propose. there will be debate. [laughter] i encourage it. everyone of us here has to pause before asking people who feel strapped to do should use a little more. this time, instead of sinking into the same old slogans, let's

have a serious, respectful, fact-based debate. the people we work for what the schools have described. they want rail and road service is we have laid out. above all, they want the opportunity and growth these investments will bring us. we, on their behalf, have tauruses to make. i choose growth. host: talk to was about infrastructure and the gas tax. guest: it is a real puzzle for states. the real way to show growth is through the gas tax. gas tax revenue has been stagnating for a long time. cars are becoming more fuel- efficient so people are buying less gas. and then because the gas tax is

on a cents per gallon basis so it does not keep up with inflation. raising gas taxes is really something that is politically doable to do. gov. martin o'malley, the governor of maryland, had a good line about it last year. to paraphrase, business's favorite tax and a regular people's least favorite tax. the state is talking about a lot of different things out ways to replace the gas tax was something else, take money from the general fund to bring in, all these different ideas out there but it is something the states are grappling with now. as cars become more fuel- efficient, we will keep grappling with it. host: josh goodman, a staff writer for "statesline" at pew center of the states. thank you for joining us this morning. next, continuing our conversation looking at what states are facing about what issues are important where you live in we will also look at

governors that may be interested in making a run for the white house in 2016. we will be right back. >> one key theme is the twin issues of abolition and the emancipation. we are hopeful they came of age when they did because between the two, they make issues around abolition issues around human rights and american freedom on a general, non-race specific level. i will go through every piece of information that johnson put it in this picture, but if you pay attention to the top half as well as the bottom, what you'll get is a white cat slinking in

and then the dark skin and the woman holding a light child. there is a ladder that goes up to the bedroom wing of the big house and a bolt of fabric coming out the other so there's a way in and out. there is a route for up here. as one reviewer said, they have a have it in the evening of a calling to the hands to spend the night. the hannah's on top of the slave quarters. if you start adding up all of these and then look down here at the white girl entering the backyard with the black woman checking the major the coast is clear, they said she is the mistress, the master's daughter, coming to hear the music. no one is. attention to her. no one is like, look who's here. a shia product of one of the liaisons'? >> the civil war and its influence on american artist as a day on c-span3.

host: we continue our conversation on the biggest issues facing your state. the numbers are are more screen. we have comments continuing to come in on facebook. unemployment and underemployment issues in florida. you can send us your remarks on facebook. we also have twitter. @cspanwj. the biggest issue facing florida, governor rick scott. our next caller, louisville, kentucky, independent line. >> good morning.

i would like to pose a question to everyone listening, and particularly the politicians. everyone considers the national debt, not the deficit, unsustainable. i want to know at what dollar amount to the politicians figure that this debt is insurmountable because the dollar amount exists. i taught math and physics for going on 30 years. i make the point that the majority of people who voted in the last election cannot differentiate between the debt and the deficit. there is a point at which it becomes insurmountable. there is a tipping point. the math exists. let me just make this one point. einstein discovered relativity. but he did not invent it. no one recognized it. everyone's calculations were off.

i submit the math that a tipping point it out there and it is about $22.70 trillion. if it reaches that point, we will not be able to get it back. with the taxes mr. obama has instituted and the growth rate of this country, even if we do not spend another dime over what we spend currently, it will take 128 years to resolve those trillions and trillions of dollars that we know. i have graduate students that could not tell you what $1 trillion is. what makes you think politicians can? >> stay with us for a moment. i want to read you a headline from where our last guest was from. with the national economy ticking up, states are poised to finally rebound from the recession lingering revenue crunch. continued budget delays may dampen those prospects. for all the talk about the

fiscal cliff, states already know what a free fall in revenue feels like. tell us about what you think kentucky is facing. you talk about the debt and the deficit, but how these federal issues affect your state? >> politicians tend to use political mouth. they use of false of bass lines and artificial parameters in which they said the equations. the congressional budget office is a political institution designed by politicians to protect politicians. it does not use genuine mass. the tipping point is out there. kentucky faces the same thing every state faces. host: peoria, illinois. hello, john. caller: thanks for taking my call. i love listening to the collar that was on there before, but it confuses me about the rainy day fund. i think we had one of those when

bill clinton left office and he gave everyone a $300. host: let's focus on the states. what's going on in illinois? caller: am i on the air right now? host: you are. caller: i'm more concerned about the rainy day fund down how the republicans wasted the rainy day fund that clinton buildup. at the statesok with the budget shortfalls. we have been talking about state surplus. illinois, new jersey, arizona, and nevada topping that list according to 24-7 wall street. on the republican line the, what issues are praising him out in california.

caller: every time i hear someone say "just real quick," they ramble on. unfunded pension liabilities is a big issue. something toset up take a deep spending out of the city council's and set this by someone that is not so close to the issue went. host: independent line in illinois. what part are you calling from? caller: central part. urbana.

awhile back, fiscal year to thousand seven or 2008 -- 2007 or 2008, there was a $19 billion surplus. texas gov. blagojevich -- our ex-governor blagojevich, i cannot remember what the spread was, but i have asked and a number of people including tim johnson where the money went and nobody has an answer. take it for what it is. the surplus like this are supposedly illegal. states are supposed to balance the budget for every year. within $19 billion surplus, once

again, where did the money go? how did we fall so far into debt? the state is having a very the occult time meeting all their financial responsibilities. everyone but i know of is under that pressure. there you go. host: hollywood, florida. reginald on our democratic line. go ahead. caller: i'm calling pertaining to -- that have been working for years and years. we are a right to work state. you were 20-30 years for an employee and you have nothing coming to you. water they drink for employees who are non-union?

what do you think about that? host: what do you think? caller: there should be legislation put in place to protect employees from these kind of companies with a note and talk -- a retirement after working 20-30 years for a company. host: what you think about republican gov. rick scott? caller: he is a joke. host: why you say that? caller: he is looking out for himself and his friends than concern for those workers. not every employee has a pension. we have nothing bursa's a right to work state. -- verses' a right to work state. host: celtics city.

what issues are facing new? -- salt lake city. what's facing you? caller: poor air quality. i have been here three years. i can go years without even getting a cold, but they have done some things with the transit system that have been converted from diesel to, i think, natural gas. they have mass transit and the trends are electric. i know they have tried to work on it. it is not a whole lot with mother nature. i heard on radio about a week ago that the air quality in salt lake city is the worst in the

nation and even worse than beijing. host: boston, mass., independent scholar. what are they like for you in massachusetts? caller: i was listening to your take on governor patrick. he talks about fairness. let me give you the dirty little secret in massachusetts. we have a pension system for the politicians. after 10 years they are vested for state employees and then they have the best three-year pension. say someone was a sweet -- a street sweeper and by some political miracle, they make $140,000 the last three years. guess what the pension is based on? the government is not talking about any sort of pension reform. most of us in the public, our social security is based on lifetime earnings. i worked 27 years in the private sector and i do not think i can

retire for it least another 15 years. you have people working for the public sector that retirement 55 years old. some people are getting 90% medical paid for. in closing, i would say to the public, look at the pension systems. don't let these politicians fool you with all this talk. they are out there taking care of themselves. host: let's hear from a republican color next. kevin from liberty, ky. good morning. caller: good morning. how are you today? i'm just wonderful. talking about republicans, democrats, and all that, it is both parties that have these states in the situations they are in. it is called spending three times more than you are bringing in.

i am just a country boy. this is just how every state in our country is doing. you cannot spend three times more than you are bringing in and expect to be in a situation that is helpful. >host: what do feel about your governor? caller: i have mixed feelings. some parts of good, some parts that. host: -- some parts bad. host: does anything stickout to you? caller: mandatory furlough days. host: our last caller, cabinet republican. let's look at governors in the republican party. here is one headline.

he is pulling no punches in offering his prescription for patching up the party after a rough election. let's take a listen. [video clip] >> we have to recalibrate the compass of conservatism. we do not need to change what we believe. our principles are timeless, but we need to revamp our focus to the place where coacervates abysm bribes. we must lay out the difference between the liberal top-down solutions. we believe in creating abundance. we promote the entrepreneur. we promote the risktakers.

we support the saleswoman one sail away from hiring and other employee. [applause] let the democrats sell more federal programs while we sell rejuvenating new businesses. we do not believe the top-down industrialized government is a good idea. we must focus on the empowerment of citizens making relevant and difficult decisions while democrats sell factory government cranking out a dumbed down after for the entire country. host: gov. jindal giving the keynote address last week. joining us now to talk about governors with aspirations to perhaps reach a national office is cameron joeseph, a reporter for "the hill."

how is a governor like jindal factoring in on the national stage? guest: i. he is one republican governor we should definitely be keeping an eye on. he is trying position himself for a presidential run and we assert himself on the national stage. he was a very fast rising star. in 2009, he buried it -- gave a very poor speech in response to obama's state of the union, but he is back. is noteworthy that he came up for the keynote speaker. this sets him up pretty well as a contrast to some of the other big names, marco rubio and paul ryan. he has a good education reform

going down there that is popular with the gop base. he is a devout catholic which helps in states like out oiowa. it really is focused on developing problem solving and he can be very effective. he's gotten better as a speaker which is also important. host: thank you for correcting me. he was speaking at the republican national committee winter meeting. tell us about other republicans getting was right now. guest: chris christie is certainly a media darling. the more he does to the popular with the media, he is being perceived as a good governor but it is hurting him with the gop base and he has gone under fire

as of late. he has been fighting hard for funding for hurricane sandy release. he came out firing right after new year's ripping into john boehner for not getting the bill passed quickly enough. he has a status of, and doing what's best for my state, which will be good in getting reelected. but rand paul said he looks like he was just money grubbing for his state. he was also very critical of the way that chris christie was asking for money and the way that he did it. is one of those guys that is going to be very important within the gop and because of the media market, he is such a bombastic and powerful speaker, he will be there, but it does

not look like he is positioning himself for a presidential run right now. if a conservative win the primary, he may be a good add to the ticket for an attack dog vice-president. he's not looking as strong as he did a few years ago. scott walker is someone to keep an eye on. he was very popular for fighting the unions in wisconsin and he is in a purple state. if he won reelection of, that would be a big boost for him. he is tried to move more to the center to avoid controversy. he got what he wanted and his numbers are doing pretty well in wisconsin. years one of the more popular political figures. he is more popular than on paul ryan. it would be surprising to see them both run. i do not think they will. we think ryan is positioning himself for a run, so it will be

interesting to see what walker does there. host: we saw a woman republican and governor on the ticket in 2008. what about women in the republican party? guest: there are a few to keep your eye on. niki haley is one. i think they are underrated in the abilities they may have a national stage. i do not know if either of them as likely to run for president. nikki haley is not that popular with in her own state and she will likely be facing a republican primary and a top general election even in a state like south carolina. -- facing a tough general election. she was trying to help mitt romney in the state and he ended up plummeting. she did not have the personal appeal to transfer any of that.

she is hispanic, a former democrat. the nra loves her, which is a more important issue now than it was. she does very well in appealing across the dial. her problem is she has been mentally disabled sister and is very strong in medicare support. it will be more as a surrogate them actually running herself. host: our guest, cameron joseph, had a recent story in "the hill." who are democrats to watch? how are social issues playing into the message? guest: there are two democratic governors who always try to talk

about this. gov. cuomo of new york is most likely running. he has been very strong in pushing for gun control. he got it passed almost immediately to the state legislature. in new york, it is still under bipartisan control. republicans are very powerful in the state house there. and martin o'malley in maryland is doing a lot of the same things. o'malley pushed through gay marriage, which was a very big deal. because andrew cuomo has such a strong, powerful media force with the new york, he will be closely watched on the national stage because the new york media is so influential. he is better known nationwide. martin o'malley is is kind of falling into this "me, too" problem. in the same way that joe biden and others could not get

themselves branded separately, they were thought of as somewhat candidates. you can see martin o'malley starting to do that and they're trying to figure out a way to find some room between them. he is known in a better light nationally. gov. martin o'malley has a good net worth and the two of them are pushing a very hard. is biden does not wrong, those are the types of names you can see popping up. -- if biden doesn't not run, those are who you can see. host: are there emerging politicians to watch that may not be getting as much coverage right now or emerging vice- presidential candidates? host: bob mcdonnell down in virginia -- guest: bob mcdonnell is very popular.

they are doing things that are problematic though. sandoval could be a possibility. he's pro-abortion but works well across the aisle. martinez to do well in the southwest and had a few setbacks in the last few years. he is someone i would keep watching. and in colorado, he is just getting rave reviews. he is very well liked by democrats. persian for stronger gun control measures in the state and it is very heavily gun-friendly. he is well liked by republicans.

he is someone you could really see on the ticket possibly. in the western governor, more moderate. . he is the other obama. xelrod.ey didn't a he could be a national leader going forward. host: cameron joseph of "the hill." on the east side, things are ok with nikki haley. you can share your opinions on what is going on in your state and what you think about the leader of your state. they have national aspirations? on twitter --

bruce from about rouge, louisiana -- from baton rouge. caller: some states, louisiana for sure, $143,000 is what he was making per year as a warden. he retires and then he goes back to working. now he is getting retirement but also benefits from marching. it's not right. if you're going to work, you retire and you do not go back to work even in a different branch. there are a few occasions of things like that happening. retiring getting $60,000 and a few weeks later, they higher them back at $80,000 something

per year. host: the national council of state legislatures looks at issues facing the states and one they're right about is corrections. states are grappling with saving on corrections. mark in texas, democratic caller. caller: i just wanted to speak to you about our wonderful governor, rick perry, here in texas. "the houston chronicle" as

reported since he was reelected in 2010, they have spent $2.40 million on his security detail. i find this really interesting since the governor has not spend a whole lot of time in texas and see have been elected. he was in sweden when the governor's mansion nearly burned down to the ground. subsequently, the taxpayers granted him a wonderful home in austin to the tune of $10,000 per month which, by the way, last i checked he is still in and having a great time. the governor's mansion has been revamped and it's ready per him to move in but he has not seemed to do that. mainly, the story that came out is apparently, he went to italy with his wife and claims it was

on texas business. he had to have all of these guys protecting him on his detail. i just think it's interesting. $2.40 million. not to mention his dismal reach for the presidency, which we all know was a big joke when we saw him on that debate. and then he went and pedaled a book and had to have his security detail in place. the taxpayers are paying for it. there is a hiring freeze down here in texas because we do not have the money to hire any more state people because of money. then there were education cuts and all the others. i think another rest of the story year. host: let's look at a comment on facebook.

two of our followers like that, and and you can join at harbor station. timman, independent line. good morning. -- time. caller: i've been a truck driver for 35 years. we have such an influx of nationalities coming to our industry. a longtime ago, regulations stated you must read, write, and understand the american language. if you're beholden to the scales -- pulled in, the state of wyoming will take you out of your truck and your company has to send an english speaking person to take your truck off the scales. here in iowa, if someone that

does not speak english wants to get a license, all they have to have is an interpreter at the driver's license bureau to obtain a commercial driver's license. to me, that's absurd. you are either going to follow the federal rules or you're not. how can the state to do it? being a truckdriver, we have to adhere to all states, everywhere. but have different rules and regulations, and interpretations of federal law, which one is right. all host: to more, md., democratic caller -- baltimore, md. caller: i'm from georgia. host: excuse me. caller: macon, georgia. host: what's going on in georgia? caller: this pertains to the

georgia congress and the whole nation. we vote to cut entitlements but at the same time, congress votes themselves a raise. they think we are top-heavy and they need to start with the congress and everyone. host: i think i lost to their but let me show you what "the new york times" had to say right after the election. here is a state-by-state. that is a result of the recent election in georgia. chris, independent, good morning. caller: this is the graphic you had up earlier showing may and had a $50 million surplus in 2011. that was converted in 2012 to a

projected deficit of two to $24 million after the republican legislature and the governor gave the 1%-ers the biggest tax cut in history. host: what is going on in your state, chris? independent, but think believe the democrats took over the legislature in november so maybe it will get better? right now, we are hurting. of course they blame it all on medicaid, welfare, what have you. the tax cuts do not matter for the wealthy. that's what's going on up here. host: have you had a chance to hear about the new governor of new hampshire? have you heard much about what governor maggie hassan has to say? caller: i like the fact that they have no income tax. i have thought about moving

there. host: here's a story from your neck of the woods back in october. let's listen to the inaugural address of the new governor of new hampshire, gov. maggie hassan. she talks about innovation and taxes. [video clip] >> we are equally suited to see the promise and opportunity that innovation presents, but adapting to the demands of an innovation economy presents immediate challenges, too. our population is aging, yet we

pursue policies that are driving our young people out of the state. we have the fourth highest in- state tuition for public state universities in the country and to many of our talented students pursue college education elsewhere. when these new hampshire natives leave to complete school, they often choose not to return. it deprives our economy of talented people with the energy and skills needed to drive innovation. we need to renew our tradition of attracting new citizens to our state. we need to help our young people stay here, raised their wrong families here, and remain a part of the future of new hampshire. [applause]

cutting state support for public indication that in half while lowering of the tobacco tax two years ago was short-sighted. [applause] it hurt our young people. if not quickly addressed, this will impair our future economic prosperity. we must begin to reverse course. in exchange, the university's system working with us needs to increase the number of new hampshire students submitted to our state colleges and

universities and freeze it in the state tuition. host: new hampshire gov. maggie hassan, a democrat, in her state of the state address. you can find all the clips we have been playing on our website. state of the state, state of the commonwealth, inaugural addresses. c-span.org and go to the video library. in the annapolis on the independent -- indianapolis on the independent line. caller: it seems people have amnesia when it's time to vote, especially in indiana. we have an incoming governor who just came out of congress, walked out of one door and went in the other. he has already set himself up for a federal pension. talk about double dipping.

outgoing gov. daniels justic a bigot, high-paying job as president-- just took a big, high paying job as president of the public university. he took a salary cut from state employees for five years and then he went into washington and set himself up for a big pension. now he has returned into the private sector to dabble in here and there. it is just the common people who are seeinn to suffer. they do not see that they are being conned by these politicians. the foreigners that come over here seem to be more astute than we are as homegrown americans. and is wondering when we will wake up. host: dolores, what do think the

repercussions are on citizens like yourself? you are taking umbrage at this revolving door? how does this affect you personally? caller: everything is going up and nothing is coming down. your income is that men. theirs is steadily escalating and they take care of their friends. the little person has no recourse, especially in indiana. people in indiana of -- i just don't know where the mentality is when it's time to the vote. host: pa. on our democratic line, good morning. caller: i would just like to speak on the governor in pennsylvania. i have been seeing her lately -- host: your governor is a man.

host: another call early pennsylvania, independent. caller: i'm a little confused about how these taxes work out here in pennsylvania. i don't know whether they take lessons from the government or the government takes lessons from us. i don't know. i moved out here from the hamptons in long island in 2007. i figured it would be cheaper to live out here, which it isn't. pennsylvania has taxes for just about everything you can do. just recently, harrisburg was bankrupt and they were trying to look for money to fix the highways. i read this in the paper. the next day, i read that the pennsylvania gaming commission is working out a deal with the u.k. to come over here and run the casinos.

when randall was in, he wanted table games and he got them. now we are supposed to alleviate property taxes, but our tax is just keep going up and up. most of them go to the school districts. i'm finding out the school districts need astroturf and their big in sports out here. that is where most of the money goes. host: you just mentioned the former governor of pennsylvania. tell us about your republican governor. what do you know about him? caller: they're looking at raising gas taxes. it was mentioned, 24 cents, to get the roads fixed out here. again, i say people paying all these taxes and all of these businesses putting in money and we don't get anything, except

threatened if we do not pay. host: our viewers just saw governor corbett there. our last call in new haven, conn., on the democrats' line. caller: things for calling -- taking my call, libby. we have a pretty good governor and it he is currently focusing on sandy hook. we have had a few bad governors, one ending up in prison, deservedly so. the real problem in connecticut is the disparity in wealth. the cities are absolutely poor and starving. the kids there don't get educated. the kids in the suburbs get very well-educated. of course, we had 20 shot down the other day, but all over

connecticut, there are little kids killed all the time in drive-by shootings, in their houses and beds, not just in schools. we have to do something about gun violence and not just for the suburbs. unfortunately, in connecticut, there are walking right to the gun stores and buying the ar- 15's. it's a sad situation. things for giving me the chance to say something about it. host: thank you for all of your calls over the last few hours. we have been talking about the biggest issues facing your state. you can hear the state of the state addresses on our web site, c-span.org. they are all catalog in the video library. from the past and this year. that is all for "washington journal." tomorrow, our guests include a law professor